Newcastle band Grandfather Birds played a special gig at The Cluny this week.

The four-piece are planning a short hiatus as lead singer Matt Saxon is going travelling, so the rest of the band decided to send him off in their own unique way - with a special performance last night.

While Matt is on his travels the other three members of Grandfather Birds are going to use the break to put pen to paper and start working on new ideas, without any time constraints or pressures.

This isn’t the first time the band have taken a break from working together, as soon after the release of their debut single, Higher Bridges, in 2011, some of the members of Grandfather Birds embarked on a side project, Nately’s Whore’s Kid Sister, which led to the departure of their original drummer.

However, the band reconvened in 2012 and recruited Mark Cooper as their new drummer.

He explains: “The current line-up as it stands has been together roughly two years. The band went on a small break after the previous drummer left and the rest of the guys were working on another side project.

“I joined shortly after Matt got back from Iceland with the intention of just writing and creating ideas and running with them without any after thought of, how much of this can we sell? Will people like it? It was more about trying to figure out the common ground where we all meet.”

Since forming, the band have worked hard to establish themselves on the local music scene. They have been well received by North East crowds and have formed firm friendships with a host of other local acts, including Little Comets and Let’s Buy Happiness.

But one of the quartet’s biggest boosts was being championed by legendary BBC6Music DJ Tom Robinson, which helped them gain frequent airplay through BBC Introducing as well as spins from Lauren Laverne and Steve Lamacq and BBC Radio 1 airplay from Huw Stephens.

This helped elevate Grandfather Birds’ status and they became known for their “raw, charming and truthful autumnal-indie sound”.

Over the last year the lads have been experimenting with their sound and their music has begun to evolve. They now feel it is more of a collaborative effort and have adopted a more natural approach, accumulating all of their inspirations and ideas to work towards a sound that represents where the band currently is.

Mark says: “We’ve kind of gone though a few different stages. Before I joined it was very much a case of a structured single release. The music seemed to lean towards a more short, concise style with more of an emphasis on immediate catchy hooks, which works and has yielded some fantastic music and opportunities.

“However, when I joined we were all coming from a much more open, experimental point of view. Not to sound pretentious or anything like that, we weren’t working on a four-part avantguard jazz classic, but I think it’s a natural progression for a band, after a certain amount of time, to want to get out of old habits. For us it’s about chasing something that’s fresh and exciting.”

Over the past few months the band have been busy writing and recording new material and they plan to release a new EP early next year, It’s been a while in the making but Grandfather Birds have been extra attentive to the sound and composition of the tracks and they hope fans will enjoy them.

If reaction to their previous tracks - The Woods, Things Beneath The Water and Spithope – is anything to go by, the band have nothing to worry about as they have all been well received.

Mark adds: “There is so much support both from crowds and bands alike. It’s nice to see the new material going down just as well, it’s real testament to the North East scene to know that there are people out there not just regurgitating the same thing they’ve been listening to for years.

“They are willing to open themselves up to something new. What more could you ask for?”

The Grandfather Birds played The Cluny 2 last night and are at the Bernicia Festival on Saturday, August 30.